Honourees at the celebration of the Graduate Day in the Russian Cultural Centre Photo courtesy of the Russian Cultural Centre
The Russian Cultural Centre in Cairo, in cooperation with the Egyptian Association for Graduates from Russian and Soviet Universities, organised a graduation day celebration.
Counsellor of the Russian Embassy and General Director of the Russian Cultural Centres in Egypt Alexey Tevanyan honoured a number of graduates from Russian and Soviet universities for their distinguished contributions to support bilateral relations between the two countries.
In the presence of the President of the Egyptian Association of Graduates from Russian and Soviet Universities Sherif Gad and the association’s Secretary-General Fathy Toughan, Tevanyan also honoured a number of Egyptian media personalities for their relentless efforts in following up on the centre's activities and reinforcing Egyptian-Russian relations on different fields.
(L-r) Journalist Somaya Abdel-Moneim, Russian Centre Director Alexey Tevanyan, Egyptian TV anchor Mohamed Abdallah, President of the Association Sherif Gad, Neveen Ragab from the Egyptian TV
Among the honourees were Professor of Russian literature and Former Dean of the Faculty of Alsun Makarem Elghamry, who was honoured last year by Russian President Vladimir Putin; nuclear energy scientist professor Moursi El-Tahawy, the first Egyptian to write a book on nuclear energy; musician Fathy El-Khamesy; Al-Wafd newspaper journalist Somaya Abdel-Moneim; Mohamed Abdallah and Neveen Ragab from Egyptian satellite TV; Head of Al-Ahram Daily newspaper's Diplomatic section Hany Asal; Ahram Online's City Lights Section Editor and Al-Ahram Weekly's Culture editor Reham El-Adawi; and Al-Akhbar newspaper Deputy Head of the International section Fatemah Badawy.
Director of the Russian Cultural Centre Alexey Tevanyan, Ahram Online and Al-Ahram Weekly's journalist Reham El-Adawi and President of the Association Sherif Gad
Tevanyan expressed his happiness with the presence of a large number of honorees despite the bad weather conditions that day, noting that November is a month of celebration for graduates of Russian universities, and extended his thanks and appreciation to them for their fruitful cooperation.
He pointed out that Egypt and Russia intended to celebrate the year 2020 as a year of culture, however the celebration was postponed to 2021 due to the exceptional circumstances that the world went through this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
He also emphasised that the relations between Egypt and Russia are witnessing great prosperity recently, with the number of Egyptian students studying in Russia rising from 4,000 students to 8,000 students in the last two years, pointing out that the increase in the number of students will also increase the number of the Association's graduates.
For his part, President of the Association Sherif Gad indicated that the Alumni Association, in cooperation with the Russian Cultural Centre, managed to accomplish many community activities and initiatives with the participation of many symbols of Egyptian society to celebrate Russian culture.
He also thanked Tevanyan as the representative of the Federal Agency for International Humanitarian Cooperation on his keenness to celebrate graduation day, which confirms the strong link between the graduates and the Russian Federation, pointing out that the presence of media personalities with graduates on this special day is a message that the media is an important partner in transmitting the voice of graduates to all parts of Egypt.
The celebration concluded with director Mohamed Sherif performing a song on intercultural dialogue in Russian, Arabic, and Greek. The attendees were then invited to a buffet featuring traditional food from Russian cuisine.
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